Honest Competition
by Claire D'Aubigne
Summary: It's been two years since KoF 2006 and Soiree's disappearance. Alba decides to hold another KoF--an honest match for once, or so he thinks. Will it bring Soiree back? Mostly Maximum Impact canon, but also has elements of KOF XI. Spoilers for MI2.
1. New York, New York

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I'm just playing for my own amusement. _

_Although the pairings in this story are not the main focus, I guess it matters to some people. So: Iori/Kyo, Joe/Shingo, Robert/Yuri, Ryo/King, Terry/Mary, Andy/Mai, and K'/Maxima will all be there. :) Along with other friendly relationships and rivalries. The point, of course, is that Alba and Soiree are sad and lonely without the other._

_Enjoy!_

**Chapter One **

**Southtown, New York**

"I still think he's nuts," Jude said bluntly as he tossed yet another envelope onto the pile. "This whole idea is insane."

Nobody answered.

Jude frowned. "What, guys? You agreed with me twenty minutes ago."

"Maybe I am insane," Alba answered mildly, coming around to sit at the table with his friends. He smirked a little when Jude blushed. "But it's my decision, and I want to do this."

"He's right, though," Gallagher agreed. "You're wasting a lot of effort and money, Alba. What's the point, anyway? Do you think this'll bring Soiree back?"

"If it did, then it'd all be worth it, wouldn't it?" Alba replied. "I have a few different reasons, actually. Everybody knows Soiree's gone-" how could they not, when it was all over the news lately? "-and I think it'd boost morale if we had something fun to focus on."

"A bunch of guys beating up on each other is fun?" Jude muttered.

Alba ignored him. "Besides that, nobody's ever hosted a KOF without some sort of hidden motive. It's about time there was an honest tournament."

"If you say so," Noel agreed with a shrug. "How many invitations do we have here, anyway?"

"Sixty. Of course, most of them probably won't show up since this is actually legitimate."

"You could always pretend to rig it."

"That'd defeat the purpose." Alba shook his head, reaching for a stack of sealed envelopes to address.

His friends stopped trying to convince him and worked in silence. Still, they couldn't help but think that Alba wouldn't be doing this if Soiree were around to stop him.

**Osaka, Japan**

Iori wrote the final line to his song and laid his guitar down on top of the pages so they wouldn't blow away. He stretched out beneath the tree, admiring the blossoms for a second or so before closing his eyes.

It was a nice day outside, Iori thought as he laid there with his eyes closed. The wind was blowing and the sun was shining.

A shadow fell over his face for a few seconds, but he didn't open his eyes. It wasn't like he'd really caught Iori off guard, anyway, he thought. His guest laid his head on Iori's stomach, sideways.

"Yuki broke up with me," Kyo said, without saying hello.

"Because of me," Iori clarified. He did not open his eyes.

"Because of us," Kyo corrected. "I guess I can't blame her. I called her 'Iori' on the phone."

Iori laughed a little. "I could see where that would piss her off. So what's your plan now?"

"I don't know." Kyo sounded a little glum. "I hoped she'd think it was just an accident or something, but... she says she's serious about not wanting to see me again. Is it that easy to just give up on a relationship, even after several years?"

"You tell me. Besides, you were always off traveling, anyway, weren't you? So maybe she just... saw it coming."

"Hm."

They were silent for a while, listening to the wind blow. "I checked your mail for you on my way through," Kyo said eventually. He reached for the envelope beside him, holding it over Iori's face.

Iori cracked an eye open and snatched the envelope from Kyo's hand. " 'Welcome, Participant,'" he read out loud, " 'You are cordially invited to participate'... seriously? I figured they wouldn't hold these any more." He folded the invitation up, shoving it back into the envelope. "Wasn't Meira's brother kidnapped, or something? You'd think he wouldn't want anything to do with this."

"Maybe he thinks his brother will show up for the fight," Kyo replied. "You talked to him at the 2006 tournament; do you think he has a hidden motive?"

"We chatted between fights, Kyo. You make it sound like we forged an everlasting friendship." Iori laughed a little, then sobered. "No, I don't think he would. It's probably a completely legitimate, noble competition."

Kyo thought for a few seconds, then sat up. "Do you want to go?"

"What for?"

Kyo shrugged. "It says teams of three. I bet Shingo got an invitation too; we could form a team and go. If it's just for fun, then what's the harm?"

Iori started to say no, then stopped himself and opened his eye again to gaze at Kyo. "I bet you'd enjoy getting out of Japan and away from Yuki for a while, wouldn't you?" he asked, then sighed. "Fine. I'll go—but only if it's Yabuki. I don't know how many of your friends I can stand."

**Southtown, New York**

"The kid was actually serious," Richard said with a chuckle. He stared down at the invitation, remembering when Alba had come in with his plans to host yet another King of Fighters tournament.

"_So what you're saying is that Terry and I are old enough to remember all of them," Richard teased._

"_Not at all. I'm only suggesting that you have the information I need and that I'm willing to ask."_

_Terry laughed, and Richard chuckled. "Good response. I suppose we can tell you, if you're serious about inviting a couple of relics like us."_

"So are we going to join or not?" Rock asked, staring down at his own invitation. It was only the second one he'd ever received. "Alba probably isn't planning any mass murders or anything like that."

Terry laughed. "No," he agreed, "probably not. Sure, I'll join. And I called Andy in Japan; he said he'd join, too."

"Well, why don't you, Andy, and Rock make a team and Kim, Joe, and I will make a team?" Richard suggested. "Unless your sons are planning on joining, Kim?"

"No," Kim said. "I don't think they're ready for a tournament like this yet. Dong Hwan doesn't have the discipline and Jae Hoon won't join without his brother. They're going to watch, I think."

"Well then, it's settled," Richard stood up, and everyone else followed suit. "Mary, Mai, and King could all be a team again, couldn't they?" He directed this question at Terry, who shrugged.

"It's an off month," Rock said vaguely. Everybody knew what he was talking about.

**Liège, Belgium**

"He sent the invitation. One of us should be polite enough to actually respond and crash his party."

"Duke would make him regret it. We could send him," Lien suggested. They stared at her, not really expecting her to say anything.

"Maybe," Jivatma agreed. "But sending Judeim would break him."

They collectively looked over at Judeim, who looked maliciously pleased at the prospect.

"How about it? Do you want to pretend to be Soiree Meira again?"

"I'd love it," Judeim replied, leaning forward in his chair. "But what would I say? And who would I be on a team with?"

"If we told you what to say, he'd know something was wrong. You'll have to use your own judgment. And you can't be on a team with us, because then he'd know what was going on. Thankfully, that problem may have an easy solution."

"What's that?" Judeim asked, and his friends all turned to watch the door to the room open. He chuckled. "Ash Crimson. What are you doing here?"

"_Bon soir, _Judeim," Ash replied pleasantly. "Or should I say... Soiree Meira? I think we have some common interests in this tournament. And I know where we can find a third team member, if you're interested."

**Los Angeles, California**

Athena couldn't help but want to join the new King of Fighters tournament. She loved those, and it'd be a nice break from touring. Unfortunately, Master Chin and Kensou had no desire to join again. "It's a joke," they'd both said. "We don't know this guy, and we don't have any reason to get involved. You shouldn't either."

But she loved the tournaments, and she'd met Alba Meira at the last one, two years ago.

Luck was on her side, apparently; after one of her concerts, she happened to spot Mignon Beart outside and followed her home, convincing her that joining a team was the best thing to do. "We'll surprise them," Athena insisted. "Why don't you get your sister to join, too?"

"That's... not such a good idea," Mignon argued. She didn't want to join Athena's team in the first place.

"Oh, come on! If I can get Ninon to agree, then will you?"

Confident that her sister would never join a team with her and Athena, Mignon agreed.

**Southtown, New York**

"Ten teams is a little less than what we thought," Noel said. They'd passed the entry deadline for the tournament and were going through the entry forms, seeing who'd actually taken Alba seriously. He'd probably be around later, to make a tournament bracket.

"It'd be thirty people if Alba hadn't decided to go back to using teams. What was the point in that, anyway?"

Gallagher shrugged. "To make people work together, I think. To make it seem a little more like they're friends instead of rivals."

"Oh, God," Jude murmured from behind them. Noel and Gallagher turned to see what was the matter. Wordlessly, Jude held out a card—one of the same ones they'd been looking at all afternoon. "Look at who's coming."

The friends all stared at the signatures. _Soiree Meira,_ the card read. Did that mean that Soiree knew who he was and had just chosen not to come home?

"What do we do?" Noel asked at last. "He's going to find out eventually. We can't really keep it from him."

"I guess we just let him find it," Gallagher said. "Maybe he won't think anything of it."

But they all knew that was a lie.


	2. Take a Fool's Advice

**Chapter 2**

"_Everything's been taken care of. We're not sure yet if he knows Judeim's in the tournament, but he'll figure it out soon enough." _

**Southtown, New York**

Soiree was coming home. Alba repeated the thought to himself, over and over, and wondered how he felt about that. Happy, of course, that he'd managed to find some way to get his brother back—but also a little disappointed. If Soiree was able to join a tournament, why had he stayed away? Why not try to contact Alba at least once?

And Alba didn't send an invitation specifically to Soiree—no address. Where had he gotten it?

He shook his head, forcing those thoughts out of his mind. Soiree couldn't have been with Duke and the others. His brother wouldn't betray him like that.

"What's this? A tournament sponsor, mingling with the commoners?"

Alba turned, a little startled that such a big group of people had managed to sneak up on him. "Why shouldn't I?" he asked Richard, who'd spoken. "Am I violating some secret rule that you didn't tell me about?"

Terry laughed. "It's your tournament, kid. You make the rules. If you want to be here and throw a party, then be here and throw a party. We're not going to complain."

"By the way, Alba, this is Terry's brother Andy, from Japan, and Joe Higashi, the-"

"-kickboxing champion," Alba finished for Rock, who grinned. "I've heard about both of you, of course. Welcome back." He paused, not exactly sure what came next. "There should be more people coming soon. It's a little dead here right now."

"There are more coming," Kim supplied, nodding toward the door, where K' and Maxima stood with a woman Alba didn't recognize. "You should go say hello. We'll be fine here."

* * *

Some of these people hadn't seen each other in years, so there was a lot of catching up to do. Alba was fairly certain he'd met all of the new people—at least, the ones that had shown up already. The only team missing was his brother's. There was one person on that team Alba didn't know—Ash Crimson.

He didn't have everyone's teams memorized, but he knew who Soiree would be fighting with. He hadn't been able to help it.

"Asamiya and the Beart sisters? How did you manage that?" Iori asked Alba as he made another round through the room.

"I didn't have anything to do with it," Alba replied. "They put the team together themselves, so I guess you'll have to ask them."

From across the room, Kyo smiled at Iori. He was strolling around with Shingo, trying to find the boy someone else to talk to so he could be near Iori, even if they were faking it. It was by mutual agreement, but he was still holding his breath for everyone to go to bed.

* * *

In the corner, Andy and Rock were working together to convince Terry to go talk to Mary again.

"I don't even get this on again, off again thing," Andy complained.

"You wouldn't," Terry replied, his eyes on Mary as she chatted with Mai and occasionally someone else who drifted by. "Mai won't let you out of her sight long enough for that."

"Just go, already," Rock said. "You're irritating both of us. It's just a girl."

"Says you," Terry retorted. "You can't even talk to a girl without blushing."

"Well, look at what I have for a role model."

Terry scowled, but took a deep breath and walked off.

"You know, he's right. They're just girls, Rock; they don't bite."

"Whatever you say, _Uncle_ Andy."

* * *

"By the way, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. Is he coming to this?" Iori asked Alba casually.

Alba nodded. "His team is the only one that hasn't shown up yet. I hope it's actually him, and not someone playing a joke. It wouldn't be a very funny one."

* * *

"I-I'm sorry!" Shingo exclaimed, blushing a little. He'd just bumped into someone on accident. He should be paying more attention to what he was doing!

"Hey, it's not a big deal! I remember you—hang on, don't tell me. Shingo Yabuki, right? Kusanagi's groupie."

"I'm not a groupie!" Shingo replied, still pink-faced. "I'm his student. I... I don't remember your name, though."

The tall stranger laughed. "I'm Joe. I can call you Shingo, right?"

"Um... okay." Shingo was glad he'd remembered to bring his notebook; he hoped he had something interesting on someone named Joe. If not, he could always ask Kusanagi-san what Joe's last name was, because Kusanagi-san knew everybody.

"So are you excited about this tournament?" Joe asked casually.

Just as Shingo was getting ready to answer, several things happened all at once.

Someone came through the door, and before he could even see who it was, Kusanagi-san had grabbed him by the collar and dragged him over to stand beside Iori, both of them more on edge than they usually were. Three or four people got quiet, including the guy that Shingo had just been talking to.

The atmosphere in the room had gone from mostly-sociable to tense in half a second. Shingo had no idea what to think.

"You guys could have waited for me!" someone yelled from outside, and Shingo didn't recognize the voice, but Alba Meira perked up and Iori leaned closer to mutter something to him. Shingo just barely heard it.

"_If Ash Crimson is your brother's teammate, you might want to ask him why he chooses such poor friends."_

* * *

Alba still couldn't wrap his mind around his brother picking Billy Kane as a teammate. He didn't know the other guy, but if Iori Yagami was to be trusted, he wasn't exactly a decent human being.

What had Soiree been _doing_ for the past two years?

"Hey, Bro!" Soiree exclaimed cheerfully, bounding at last into the hotel and coming to a stop between his two teammates. He glanced around at the now-silent crowd, his bright grin fading a little. "Uh-oh. Either we did something wrong or you still don't know how to throw a party."

Everybody's heads turned in unison to see what Alba would say. Suddenly, he thought that maybe this party thing had been a bad idea. "I think everyone's just... a little surprised," he offered. "Myself included." But this was his brother—weird teammates or not—and he couldn't even pretend for very long. "Welcome home, Soiree."

For half a second, Alba could have sworn he saw something completely alien flicker across Soiree's face, but it was gone before he could comment. Maybe he imagined it. "Thanks," Soiree replied. "I don't think you know Ash Crimson. Ash, this is my brother Alba."

"_E__nchanté, _big Monsieur Meira. Your brother speaks very highly of you."

"...And you already know Billy, of course," Soiree finished, gesturing to the man standing on his right.

"I'm afraid I've only heard of you from Iori," Alba replied, his gaze only flicking to Billy for an instant.

"Then it wasn't very good things, I'm afraid," Ash smiled pleasantly. "I wasn't very nice last time we saw each other. Hopefully Monsieur Yagami learns that I mean no harm this time."

Beside Alba, Iori made a quiet huffing noise—and did he step a little closer to Kyo? Well, either way, it didn't matter. Alba nodded briskly, turning his attention back to his brother.

"It's been forever since I've seen you, Bro. We'll have to catch up, won't we?"

Alba smiled slightly. Slowly, the other fighters turned away, starting their quiet conversations again. It was a little more subdued than before, but at least it was a start. With everything returning to normal, Alba took a few steps toward his brother.

Soiree met him halfway, a careless grin on his face and his hand extended between them, fingers curled into a fist. Smiling back, more freely this time, Alba gently knocked his fist against his brother's.

"You've made an interesting team here," Alba remarked. To Billy, he added, "I suppose you're aware that you can't fight your own teammates."

"It's not Soiree I had a problem with, it's _you._ You're a punk and you'll never really be the King of Southtown, but you're carrying on Geese's legacy with the tournament. The party is a little much, though."

"I didn't do this to be anything like Geese," Alba said with a scowl. "But I suppose I'll take what I can get. Soiree, we'll have to talk a little later. I still have to go over the rules of this tournament."

"Rules. Cute," Billy remarked to Soiree in an undertone. Alba ignored him.

Quickly, he got everyone's attention. "I'm just going to bore you for a little while," he said apologetically, "and then you're free to do whatever you like. In an effort to make this a fair and impartial tournament, all matches will be held in the same place and at varying times through the day. I won't know who you're fighting until you do; teams will be drawn out of a hat. Tomorrow, once you lose, you're out of the tournament, but please feel free to stay and watch if you want. The teams that remain will move on to day two.

"Since this is just a small tournament, it'll only be three days long. At the end of the tournament, you're all invited to stay and attend the barbeque that Andy Bogard is having. You'll have to get all the details from him.

"Thanks for coming, everybody, and I hope you enjoy yourselves. I want to remind you that every effort has been made to make this a fair competition. That's all—so enjoy yourselves tonight; the first match is tomorrow morning at 9am."

"You haven't changed a bit," Soiree said when everybody was talking again and not paying much attention. "Come on, let's talk and you can tell your favorite little brother how you've been doing for the past couple of years."


End file.
